Elder Vaughn Catch Up--November 7 thru December 12

I wish that I could say that my week this week was better than last week! But alas it was not! =( We got water back on Saturday, (two days ago) but this morning we did not have water.  We got the pump fixed and what not but for some reason there is not water! We think that our well is dried up! We turn the pump on for a while and we have water but after a little while the pump makes a really weird sound and does not suck water! It’s very frustrating!!!!

The only good thing about this week is that we have found a couple of good families to teach! They are really cool and excited to learn about the gospel!! I am very excited to teach them and to help them with the things that they need! We also have an inactive family that we are teaching please pray for them to come to church this week! The mom and dad are not members but all the kids are!!!

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Thank you for the words of comfort this week has been better! We had Zone Conference and we had to go to Rio Branco for it! We took a bus!! And it was a long bus ride!! But it was a nice bus and we all slept! We left Porto Velho Thursday night at about 11 and got to Rio Branco at about 9 in the morning on Friday! Then we had Zone Conference with President all day!! It was really good! We left Rio Branco at about 8 Friday Night and got back home about 5 in the morning! The journey back was a lot shorter because we did not have to wait as long for the ferry to take us across a river! The way there we waited for two hours and the way back we only had to wait for like 5 min!

I am still struggling with my companion but I don’t think that we will be comps next transfer! I have tried to be more patient but it just does not work because he does not want to fix anything, he just wants to be mad I guess!! It’s very frustrating!!  Any advice for me? Thank you for your words and prayers I know that they have helped me and I know that God is watching out for me and has me in his hand!!

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I can hang in for one more week!  We found this really great family!! They are amazing!! I am very sure that they will get baptized here in the next month or so!! YAY THEM!!! We also got a reference from a less active member and he is GOLDEN he has already prayed about the Book of Mormon and knows that it is true!!! He is one of the best people to teach!!! And, when he gets baptized on Saturday. we think that his less active friend will become active again!! Yay!!!!

Have a great Thanksgiving!!!!  Sorry this is so short but don’t have anything else to say until next week!

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You’re right I did not have a Thanksgiving here. But it was not sad at all! I had a great day! The news about the transfers is that my companion is getting transferred to Manaus! I am very relieved about this! I know that God loves me and has answered my prayers!!! I will pray for his new companion.

The baptism was really great!! He asked his less active friend to baptize him but the Bishop would not clear him because he has been inactive for a long time so then he asked me to baptize him. And it was really cool!! I like him a lot and he gave us two of his friends to teach that I am sure will get baptized here in a little bit! He is going to be a great leader in the church one day! And he has reactivated his friend!!! It was amazing!!!

So this morning we went to play soccer at the church.  On the way there, my companion kicks the soccer ball onto someone’s roof type thing!  It gets stuck in this box type thing! We knocked and tried to get someone’s attention but it looked like no one was home! So we asked their neighbor for a ladder so that we could get the ball! My comp tells me to go up and get it. Whatever, so I went up to get it but when I stepped on the roof it broke!! Roofs are not the same as in the States. They are made of thin plates of ceramic. But, I thought it was cement and that it would hold my weight! You would think that my companion who knows about these things would have warned me.  But, he didn’t. So I went and it broke.... I did not fall but I did cut my leg!  The owner of the house came out and asked us why we broke her roof!  She sent us to the store to buy the things and my companion did not pay for any of it! He told me that I was the one that went up and I was the one that broke it so I should have to pay! I was really mad at him about this because he should at least pay for some of it because he is the one that kicked the ball up there in the first place!  But, no! I had to pay the 20 reais to fix it!!  I will let you know about my new companion next week!

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This week has been good! I have been getting to know my new companion and that has been a lot of fun! His name is Elder Delgado and he is from Minas Gerais. It’s a state in Brazil! He is trying really hard to learn English; so, has asked me to help him with learning! He does not speak well at all, but he is very dedicated and I think he will learn really fast! He is also very helpful with my Portuguese.  I think that he likes to correct my Portuguese! Because he corrects me all the time! He really wants to help me to speak fluently! He says to me all the time that I need to work on my accent!

We have been teaching three friends.  I am so very excited for them they are all really great and have great testimonies! I really like this area and am very happy at the moment! Things have gotten a lot better! Thanks for your support and love and prayers!! ………………………………………………………………………………………….......................

I am also very excited about Christmas!!! It does not feel like Christmas here because there is no snow and it is very hot! And people here don’t really celebrate Christmas like we do in the States. It is very different! But I am excited we are going to spend Christmas with some members! It should be a lot of fun! They are going to make a lot of food! It will be a fun new experience for me!

I am also very excited to make one year on the mission!!!! This will happen this week by the way!!! I am very happy about that! Our lunch that day is with some members in the ward that I really like and they are going to make me something special!! I will also burn one of my shirts to celebrate!

I love ya all! Have a great week!!

Elder Vaughn